Westerly Centaur

[Seafarer]

Walmart sells an $18 electric ceramic heater made by Sunbeam that that will sweat you out of your boat. I have one on my Island Packet 26, and even with the thermostat turned way down it kept the boat warm on the coldest winter nights of the year (which, being in St. Petersburg, FL, were "only" ~30 degrees). I highly recommend this unit to anyone that utilizes shore power!

The unexpected but much appreciated benefit is the lack of humidity in the cabin. I'm sure that once the weather warms up (it's already started getting uncomfortably warm) it'll go back to feeling like a sauna aboard.

[Lost Farmboy]

The radiant oil heater seemed to work alright for me, could keep the inside at about 65 at the 7 amp setting when 40ish outside. I have used a ceramic radiant heater in the past, but did not want something that was as hot to the touch on the boat. The multifuel lantern that I purchased seems like it will add a noticeable amount of heat, though I need to get a new globe; the one included melted and curled over, then cracked, due to not withstanding the blowtorch preheater.

The larger issue that I had was condensation; a big project that I worked towards was painting various interior surfaces, and I rapidly discovered that a heat lamp (250 watt was readily available) was a valuable investment for painting in late winter/early spring. Also, condensation gathered underneath the cushion that I was sleeping on with great rapidity. Hopefully the day/night vent that I installed will provide adequate ventilation to prevent excessive damage from condensation.

For the time being, I am enjoying the time on sunny Guam due to work having me on a completely different type of "boat".